11-Day Phenomenal Beijing Xian Shanghai with Yangtze River Cruise Tour

11-Day Phenomenal Beijing Xian Shanghai with Yangtze River Cruise Tour Highlights

Price Per Person: available upon request

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing

Meals: null

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven  or similar

When your flight arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport, your local guide will be waiting for you, holding a welcome board with your names and Absolute China Tours on it. On the way to your hotel, your guide will give you a brief introduction of Beijing, an age-old city which is the capital of China. The rest of the day will be yours to wander about on your own to get the first impression of the city.

Day 2 Beijing

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Peking Roast Duck Dinner

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven  or similar

Your adventure in Beijing starts from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the center of the city, where Chinese national flag is raised every morning at the same time with the sunrise. The square is surrounded by many important buildings, for example, the memorial hall of Chairman Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the People’s Republic of China. He is admired by most of the Chinese because of his contributions to the country despite of the mistakes he made in his last days. You may visit the memorial hall if you are interested. It is ticket-free. Sightseeing inside the Forbidden City includes the front halls, the imperial garden and some of the most beautiful imperial treasure collections.

In the afternoon, you will explore another landmark of Beijing, the Temple of Heaven, where Qing emperors used to hold sacrificing ceremony and offer sacrifice to the Heaven annually to pay respect to the Heaven and pray for social stability and good harvest.

At night, enjoy Beijing Roast Duck in Quanjude, a time-honored restaurant famous for Beijing Roast Duck. Then be transferred to your hotel.

Day 3 Beijing

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven  or similar

Travel to the suburb of Beijing to visit the magnificent Great Wall of China. You will explore the Gubeikou Section of Great Wall, which with very few people, is more remote, wild and rugged enough for a good hike. It is about 2.5 hours drive away from Beijing and it is about 3-4 hours of hiking. We will provide water, snacks and trekking poles. Please prepare a day pack to carry these and wear comfortable shoes. After the trip, we will drive back to your hotel.

Day 4 Beijing - Xian by bullet train

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Grand Noble Hotel Xian  or similar

Today you will explore the old hutongs of Beijing by a rickshaw, visit a local courtyard family, learn to make jiaozi which is a delicious snack very popular in China and take a calligraphy class to learn to write Chinese characters with a brush-pen. In the afternoon,  and you will take a super high-speed train to Xian. When you arrive in Xian, you will be transferred to the hotel.

Day 5 Xian

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Grand Noble Hotel Xian  or similar

In the morning, you will visit the world-famous Terracotta Warriors. These life-sized soldiers and horses in Terracotta Warriors Museum are one of the most significant archaeological excavations in the 20th century. They are a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor of Qin in 210-209 BC, who declared himself the first emperor of China. Their purpose is to help the emperor rule the empire in the afterlife.

Then return to downtown Xian. You will visit the Old City Wall which is one of the best preserved in China and enjoy a leisure walk along the Muslim Street. Muslim Street is a famous food street, where many local cuisines and cuisines of Hui Minority are put up for sale. Local cuisines are often spicy.

Day 6 Xian - Chongqing by plane

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Yangtze River Cruise 

In the morning, you will pay a visit to Shaanxi History Museum (not available on Mondays) which holds a collection of over 370,000 precious relics including bronze wares, pottery figures, and mural paintings excavated from the Tang Dynasty's tombs. Have lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, fly to Chongqing. Upon your arrival, you will explore Hongyadong Pedestrian Street.

In the evening, you will enjoy dinner before being transferred to the pier to board the Yangtze River Cruise. From tonight onwards, you will be overnight on the Yangtze River Cruise for 3 nights.

Day 7 Three Gorges Area

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Yangtze River Cruise 

The cruise sails on the Yangtze River. You could enjoy a shore excursion to Shibaozhai Pagoda. It is a 12-story temple built in Zhongxian County in 18th centuryon the northern bank of Yangtze River. It is an architectural delight representing one of the gems of Chinese architecture. It is a relaxed and leisure day for you.

Day 8 Three Gorges Area

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Yangtze River Cruise 

After having your breakfast on the cruise, you could participate in the activities on board. Later on, your cruise will pass through the Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Today, you will board a smaller boat and take a shore excursion to the Small Three Gorges or Shennong Stream or Shennv Stream.

Day 9 Yichang - Shanghai by flight

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Hotel Shanghai Zhabei  or similar

After enjoying your breakfast on the cruise, you will take a visit to the Three Gorges Dam. It is considered the greatest water construction in China. Then, you will go back to the cruise and enjoy your lunch on the cruise.

Afterward, prepare your things up and get disembarked at Yichang pier. Your Yichang guide will meet you at the pier and pick you up and drive you to Yichang airport. Here you will take the domestic flight from Yichang to Shanghai. Upon arrival in Shanghai, you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in. Have a good rest and enjoy your own evening in Shanghai.

Day 10 Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Hotel Shanghai Zhabei  or similar

Today, you will explore the Shanghai Museum (not available on Mondays). As the biggest and also the best museum in China, Shanghai Museum displays a large collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics and porcelain, paintings, calligraphy, seals, jade, coins, furniture and ethnic artifacts from minority groups, etc.

Then walk along the famous Nanjing Road which is the most popular Pedestrian Street in Shanghai. After that, you will visit the Bund, the landmark of Shanghai, which is lined with dozens of historical buildings.

Finally, you will travel to the Yuyuan Garden, which is a Chinese classic garden. Its architecture features exquisite rock and wooden carvings, rockery, ponds, etc.

Day 11 Depart from Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: N/A

Enjoy free time until being driven to the airport for your departing flight. Thus, end of this phenomenal  tour.